Allentown firefighters have gotten a blaze in the 800 block of North Eighth Street under control, but are still dousing hot spots, Allentown Assistant Fire Chief Lee Laubach said.

At least nine homes have been damaged and five firefighters taken to the hospital, officials said.

The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley spokeswoman Janice Osborne said as of 4:40 p.m., seven families were affected by the fire. The agency is so far assisting three families which combined include seven adults and 11 children.

Residents of the burned row homes -- 852, 854, 856 and 858 -- said they and their animals escaped without injury because of quick-thinking neighbors who warned of the fire by pounding on their doors and windows.

It began at about noon in 854 N. Eighth St. when a kitchen fire, sparked as someone cooked sausages, got out control, residents said. A half dozen city firetrucks converged on the block as firefighters worked to extinguish flames that quieted for a time and then surged at about 1:20 p.m.

As fresh flames licked from one home's roof, police asked people who live opposite the burning houses to clear their porches and go inside. Onlookers lining the sidewalks, many using cellphones to snap photos or record video, were herded to either Eighth and Greenleaf streets or Eighth and Cedar streets as embers and debris floated into the street.

Firefighters attacked flames from both Eighth Street and an alley behind the block, maneuvering ladder trucks to their best advantage.
At one point, smoke carried by a sudden wind smothered the block, making it difficult to see beyond 100 feet.

Police shut down vehicle traffic on and around the block, causing traffic tie-ups as motorists sought alternative routes.
Shortly after 1 p.m., a firefighter was placed on a stretcher and wheeled to a waiting ambulance. A paramedic assisted another firefighter as he walked to the same vehicle.

Several firefighters who looked to be overheated rested in chairs while city paramedics erected an air-conditioned tent for them. One firefighter looked to be receiving intravenous fluids.

Gloria Arroyo said she was folding clothes in her 856 N. Eighth St. home when someone started banging on the front door and shouting about a fire.
She rounded up the five children who were home -- two 5-year-olds, two 11-year-olds and a 12-year-old -- before heading outside. Her 12-year-old daughter ran back inside to grab one of their dogs, she said.

Arroyo's housemate, Jennifer Lopez, 27, was asleep with her boyfriend when banging and shouts of "fire" awakened them. She ran outside wrapped in nothing but a towel.
Lopez's boyfriend ducked back inside the house to grab a pair of jeans; a neighbor gave her a T-shirt, she said. While inside, at the request of Arroyo's daughter, he grabbed their second dog.

Arroyo said she and Lopez, who live in the house with their four and two children, respectively, don't have renter's insurance and will likely lose everything in the fire. The 40-year-old said she is thankful no one was hurt, but began crying as she talked about an irreplaceable photo of her deceased father that was left in the house. Arroyo's eldest daughter is 20 and was at work when the fire started.